This invention relates to an electronic wind controller for simulating, the playing characteristics of acoustic woodwind instruments. More particularly, this invention provides certain improvements in wind controllers for making such instruments easier to play, more expressive and capable of producing chords.
In the technology of digital music and sound, there is a need for certain improvements, especially in wind controllers for simulating the playing characteristics of woodwind instruments. In digital music, the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard is both a hardware and software data transmission specification. This widely used standard specifies a scheme for connecting music synthesizers, controllers, and other music processing equipment. The standard calls for unidirectional, serial data transmission at 31.25K bits per second between devices. The standard also specifies a data protocol for exchanging musical performance data, control information, and other data. Typically, a MIDI-compatible musical instrument such as a keyboard or wind controller has a MIDI output which can be connected to the MIDI input of a synthesizer. When notes are played on the instrument, MIDI data flows via the serial data link to the synthesizer where it is interpreted and converted into an analog waveform suitable for amplification, listening on headphones or speakers, or recording. MIDI messages are usually short sequences of data bytes used to convey actions to the synthesizer. Each MIDI message begins with a command byte, such as xe2x80x9cnote onxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cnote offxe2x80x9d. Additional bytes of information are added to the message to indicate which pitch should be played (called a note xe2x80x9cvaluexe2x80x9d), and how loudly (called the xe2x80x9cvelocityxe2x80x9d). A xe2x80x9cnote onxe2x80x9d message will cause a pitch to be produced by the synthesizer and sustained until a corresponding xe2x80x9cnote offxe2x80x9d message arrives. Furthermore, polyphony (more than one note playing at a time) can be achieved by sending multiple xe2x80x9cnote onxe2x80x9d messages in a row. A synthesizer receiving multiple xe2x80x9cnote onxe2x80x9d messages will produce the pitches together as a chord. The data rate used by MIDI is sufficiently high that the sequential, but nearly simultaneous, arrival of these messages cannot be discerned by the listener. MIDI provides for numerous other commands and control messages used for things like synthesizer programming and data transfer.
Though relatively inexpensive when compared to the cost of a high quality saxophone, clarinet, or flute, the wind controller has failed to gain widespread acceptance among woodwind players. The failure of these instruments to catch on can probably be attributed to their major shortcoming; the high degree of difficulty of playing the commercially available wind controllers well. Even musicians with a technical mastery over traditional acoustic woodwinds find the wind controller to be difficult, if not impossible, to play with equal finesse.
In digital music, the instruments themselves have no acoustic properties whatsoever and are made of computers, switches and transducers of various description. Sounds are xe2x80x9ctriggeredxe2x80x9d through the production of data signals, such as MIDI data, rather than being produced by an acoustic process. The accidental triggering of a note, in MIDI parlance, has become known as a xe2x80x9cglitchxe2x80x9d. Glitches usually happen during the transition between two notes. But each type of electronic controller has its own characteristic glitch risk. With keyboards there is almost no risk, whereas with wind controllers the risk of glitching is considerable.
Presently, wind controllers are wired with a single switch at each key position, where each key corresponds roughly to a key on the woodwind instrument, such as a saxophone, which is simulated by the controller. Keys are either depressed or not and thus each key on the controller has two states or positions, up or released and down or held. Due in part to the nature of woodwind fingerings, when a musician makes a note transition that calls for a state change in more than one key, there is a glitch risk, as will be described below.
Consider the following example of how a glitch can arise on a wind controller such as the Yamaha WX-11. A transition from the note G# to the note C# calls for four keys to go from a closed position to an open position. If all four keys are lifted at exactly the same instant we will have a clean, glitch-free transition between G# and C# with no other notes sounding. However, if there is a very slight difference (as measured by a 32 KHz clock) in transition times, a glitch will arise. This obtains because, out of all of the possible key combinations involving the same four keys as those in the G# to C# transition, five combinations represent actual notes. For a performer playing with less than machine-like precision, the wind controller will recognize (on the way to C#) a different note transition than the one intended. Perhaps it will play G#-A-C#, or even G#-G-C-C#. This is just one of many similar examples which frustrate even very accomplished woodwind players trying to make use of a wind controller.
There is a need, as set forth above, in wind controllers for preventing the accidental triggering of a note, i.e. an event which has come to be known as a xe2x80x9cglitchxe2x80x9d.
In electronic wind controllers, the fingering positions of the counterpart acoustic instrument, such as the saxophone, are mostly preserved so that a musician familiar with a saxophone will be able to readily learn to play a wind controller. This is done as a convenience when, in fact, a wind controller could have any arbitrary fingering chart imaginable. In an acoustic instrument such as a saxophone, clarinet, or flute the fingerings on the instrument have been determined largely by the laws of physics, the fingering charts for these instruments are subject to the acoustic properties of the instrument and therefore are not ideal for the player. As any woodwind player can attest, each of the twelve major and minor keys has its own characteristic, or idiomatic xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d. Some musical keys are easier to play in than others. A standard woodwind fingering chart shows the primary fingerings for the instrument, and some charts show a few alternate fingerings, too. But to a skilled musician, the alternate fingerings on the instrument play a very important role and are used often. In fact many xe2x80x9cundocumentedxe2x80x9d alternate fingerings are learned by experimentation and discovery by musicians looking to achieve a kind of mastery over the instrument.
Electronic musical instrument makers have overlooked this aspect of woodwind playing almost entirely. Current instruments fail to introduce new secondary, or alternate, fingerings that will be of use to the player. Furthermore, ideally a musician would prefer if the many unassigned key combinations would not create a sound at all. In the prior art (for an example, Yamaha WX-11), unfortunately almost every possible key combination on the instrument produces a note. This makes the instrument into a kind of xe2x80x9cmine fieldxe2x80x9d full of unwanted fingerings that make it more difficult to play, increase the glitch risk described above, and introduce key combinations which are not useful. There is a need, as set forth above, to provide wind controllers with customizable secondary, or alternate fingerings that will be of use to the player.
Although the wind controller technology is highly developed, there remains a need for providing the wind controller with the capability of playing chords. Examples of chording instruments are, of course, the piano, the guitar, and even the harmonica. Even though traditional acoustic woodwinds are not polyphonic and hence are not chording instruments it would be a desirable capability for a wind controller. Although some devices like harmonizers are available to create preset chords and intervals, and MIDI sustain pedals can help produce chords by layering sustained notes, these devices do not meet the need for the wind controller to play chords.
In the musical context of a jazz solo, the art of xe2x80x9ccompingxe2x80x9d is a form of accompaniment to a soloist providing the harmonic structure for improvisation. Comping is the practice of playing through a chord progression using voicings selected extemporaneously by an accompanist. Giving the woodwind player the ability to play this kind of accompaniment for another soloist, or for other purposes could greatly transform the role of the woodwind instrument in ways that aren""t entirely foreseeable. One use would be for a soloist to self-accompany. Combining this new chording capability of the wind controller with off-board MIDI software, one could actually play sustained chords and play a melody xe2x80x9coverxe2x80x9d the chord having all notes sounding together. There is a need, as set forth above, for a wind controller which is capable of playing chords.
Wind controllers for music synthesizers are disclosed in the following patents. In general, the prior patents relate to wind controllers which are provided with special features for sound production.
The Clement et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,895, granted Aug. 2, 1976, describes a wind controller for simulating a saxophone that comprises a plurality of keys and a mouthpiece with a pressure transducer. Actuation of the keys in a manner similar to that of the saxophone provides a combination of key pulses which are applied to a key decoder which produces a binary output corresponding to the combination of key pulses. A digital-to-analog converter provides an analog tone signal which is applied to a tone frequency generator the output of which is processed to produce audible musical sounds.
The Sakashita U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,307, granted Feb. 19, 1991 describes an electronic wind controller for simulating an acoustic saxophone. This instrument is provided with pitch designation switches actuated by keys fingered by the player and also with coupler pitch difference setting switches for use by the player. A breath sensor provides a signal corresponding to the strength of the breath of the player.
The Kawashima U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,315, granted Jun. 30, 1992, discloses an electronic wind controller provided with features for selecting tone color to simulate a so-called natural or acoustic saxophone. This patent describes the use of simple on/off switches actuated by fingering keys for pitch selection.
The Kawashima et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,966, granted Apr. 4, 1995, discloses an electronic wind controller of the saxophone or recorder type which is adapted for playing chords.
The Tanaka U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,080, granted Dec. 14, 1999, describes an electronic wind instrument which simulates an acoustic saxophone and is provided with alternate fingering arrangements.
The Adachi et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,571, granted Sep. 26, 1995, describes an electronic keyboard musical instrument with a plurality of keys each of which is provided with two sensors including a stroke sensor and a touch response switch which serve as an initial sensor operated during depression of each of the keys.
The Mizuno U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,740, granted Apr. 28, 1998, describes an electronic musical instrument which cooperates with a MIDI instrument to generate musical tones in a desired manner arbitrarily set by a human operator.
A general object of this invention is to provide a wind controller with certain improvements to make the instrument easier to play, more expressive and capable of producing chords and which overcomes certain disadvantages of the prior art.
In accordance with this invention, an improved wind controller is provided which is adapted for glitch-free operation. This is provided by detecting whether each note key is in its released position, its held position or in transition between the released and held positions and preventing any note from sounding until the transition of all actuated note keys is complete.
In accordance with this invention, an improved wind controller is provided which is adapted for glitch-free performance. This is accomplished by providing each of the note keys with a key position sensor for producing a tri-state logic signal having a first state with the key in the released position, having a second state with the key in the held position and having a third state when the key is in transition between the released and held positions. Further, first logic means is coupled with each key position sensor for producing a key position signal, preferably a one-bit signal for each of said keys when said tri-state logic signal is in either the first state or the second state. Further, a key map memory is coupled with the first logic means for storing the key position signals for application to a music synthesizer. Further, second logic means is coupled with each of said key position sensors for producing a key transition signal when said tri-state logic signal is in the third state for disenabling the application of said key position signals from the key map memory to the synthesizer, whereby glitches are avoided in producing a selected note.
Further, in accordance with this invention, an improved wind controller is provided which is adapted for allowing the player to select from two or more alternate fingering or key charts for playing a given piece. Further, the alternate fingerings are implemented so as to properly interpret valid primary and secondary fingerings while ignoring any xe2x80x9cmine fieldxe2x80x9d fingerings which should not sound. Preferably, this is accomplished by creating and installing alternate fingering charts to the wind controller using a personal computer coupled with the wind controller for downloading a selected fingering chart.
Further, in accordance with this invention, an improved wind controller is provided which is adapted for playing chords. Preferably, this is accomplished by providing the instrument with a set of chord keys in conjunction with a computer program which allows the player to register, without sounding, a series of notes to make up a chord under the control of one registration key and then use an enable/disable key which alternately activates the last registered chord for playing or deactivates it to put the instrument back in monophonic mode. Another registration key may be provided to register another chord whereby an endless progression of chords can be played in succession with one chord sounding while the next chord is being silently registered to be sounded next.
A complete understanding of this invention may be obtained from the detailed description that follows taken with the accompanying drawings.